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Several More Years Passed Before The Oracle Was Fully Complete, In Terms Of ...

Several more years passed before The Oracle was fully complete, in terms of the cinema complex being finished, and the footpath to Broad Street being completed (which connects The Oracle with Reading's other retail focus: its ‘High Street'). The Oracle has space for 90 retailers, and hosts two major department stores (Debenhams and House of Fraser), along with numerous restaurants, bars and cafes, a cinema, and with car parking for nearly two and a half thousand cars. The shopping centre development here has increased Reading's retail capacity by a quarter, and has attracted not only local shoppers but also shoppers from miles around.
The Oracle courted controversy ever since it's opening, with the owners of the shopping centre refusing to sell any retail space to local retailers, and much of the retail space being sold en-masse to a large UK pub chain, in the hope that this would encourage the retail units to be filled. The large number of car parking spaces was, however, welcome in Reading, as there was a deficit in town centre parking; the high cost of the parking space can, however, act as a deterrent for many visitors. Indeed, it is thought, in future, that The Oracle may lose out on custom to Festival Place in Basingstoke which offers much cheaper parking for shoppers.
As we have seen, The Oracle has been hailed as a success by all concerned: the builders, the owners, the local planners and the local community, who, as we have seen, have, amongst other things, benefited from enhanced town centre parking, and enhanced retail opportunities. The impact of The Oracle on existing retail locations in Reading will be discussed in further detail in the next section of the dissertation.
Case Study 3: The New Bull Ring in Birmingham
As we have seen, the new Bull Ring in Birmingham was built in stages, from the year 2000 when the old Bull Ring Shopping Centre was demolished. The first business to move in to the new Bull Ring was the Nationwide Building Society with Selfridges opening the doors of their famous futuristic flagship store in 2003. The Bull Ring development, in particular the Selfridges store, has proven to be very successful, in terms of attracting visitors (shoppers) to Birmingham town centre; indeed, on its opening day, over quarter of a million people visited the Selfridges store alone and it has been estimated that in its first year, nearly thirty seven million people visited the Bull Ring shopping centre. Birmingham town centre has been revitalised by the building of the Bull Ring, with thousands of new jobs being created, and many visitors from all over the Midlands coming to Birmingham town centre specifically to spend money, either in the shops or in the many bars, cafes and restaurants in both the old town centre and the New Bull Ring shopping centre.


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